Kenya native wins Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon

Shawanna White of Stone Mountain, Ga., crosses the finish line in the University of Tennessee's Neyland Stadium to win the women's full marathon in the 2012 Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon in Knoxville, Tenn., on April 1. White won the race at the eighth annual Knoxville event by finishing the 26.2-mile race with a time of 2:58:09.

KNOXVILLE -- Kenya native Jynocel Basweti of Hebron, Kentucky won the eighth annual Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon on Sunday, April 1. Basweti, who placed second in the men's full marathon in 2011, finished the 26.2-mile race with a time of 2:29:24.

Stewart Ellington of Knoxville came in second at 2:32:16. Ellington won the race in 2008 and 2009. Danny Kratzer of Maryville was third with a time of 2:49:38.

In the women's category, the top spot went to Shawanna White of Stone Mountain, Ga. Her time was 2:58:09. Tina Eakin of Clarksville, Tenn., came in second at 3:05:24, and Rebecca McDowell of Knoxville came in third at 3:10:02.

In the men's half-marathon, first-place winner Daniel Kirwa of Searcy, Ark., finished the course at 1:06:33. Adelaziz Atmani of Hebron, Ky., was second with a time of 1:06:35. Both Kirwa and Atmani are natives of Kenya. Third place for the men was Andy Baksa of Chattanooga, Tenn. He finished at 1:10:20.

In the women's half-marathon, Kenya native Lilian Mariita of Hebron, Ky., took the top spot with a time of 1:16:35. Rolanda Bell of Knoxville, Tenn., finished second at 1:22:02. Bell, a New York native who now resides in Karns, is a former distance runner for the University of Tennessee Lady Vols Track and Field team. Emily Chaney of Huntington, W. Va., finished third at 1:23:39.

In the men's 5K run, Kenyan David Cheromei of Damascus, Va., took first with a time of 15:45. Max Paquette of Knoxville, Tenn., finished second at 16:03, and Eddie Wright of Oak Ridge, Tenn., finished third at 17:50.

Kathy Wolski of Knoxville won the women's 5K with a time of 18:52. Wolski previously won the women's full marathon race for three consecutive years in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Robyn Brookshire of Knoxville took second place at 19:16, and Merazon Sia of Morristown, Tenn., took third place at 19:18.

The field also included two handcyclists. Thomas Kahler of Clinton, Tenn., finished the full marathon with a time of 2:12:00, and Edee Vaughan of Knoxville finished the half-marathon at 1:48:23.

The Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon also offered a four-person marathon relay and the one-mile Covenant Kids Run.

"Congratulations to all the winners and participants in the eighth annual Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon," said Tony Spezia, president and CEO of Covenant Health, the marathon's title sponsor. "All race participants should be very proud to have taken the steps they did today toward leading a healthy and active lifestyle; that's what the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon is all about.

"We also would like to congratulate and thank the city of Knoxville, the Knoxville Track Club, the community and the hundreds of volunteers for again making this the most successful year for the event so far with a record number of more than 7,500 participants."

The Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon is a premier event organized by the Knoxville Track Club, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the encouragement of physical well being through running, jogging, competitive road racing, racewalking, fun runs, cross-country and track and field.

Published April 1, 2012